3 Meg and the Paradox
by lilurchin
Summary: The TARDIS continues to act up. The Doctor's suspicions of Meg's true identity are raised as she is drawn into the Keepers of History's deadly conspiracy.
1. Chapter 1: Soft Landing in the Morning-

**Meg and the paradox**

Book 3

_The TARDIS continues to act up. The Doctor's suspicions of Meg's true identity are raised as she is drawn into the Keepers of History's deadly conspiracy. _

_Previously: _

_Escaping Area 51 alive, the Doctor decides to take Meg on as a companion. Along the way he hopes to find out more about her mysterious and tragic past while keeping her away from the Master._

Those that do no remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana

History is a set of lies agreed upon.

Napoleon Bonapart

**Chapter 1: Soft Landing in the Morning**

"Ok, Old Girl. Nice and easy this time." The Doctor murmured, alone with the TARDIS. Getting to K2 blew all the red breakers and half the blue ones. Energy reserves were lower than they should have for such a tiny hop – they hadn't even moved in time – just a basic dematerialization. But this was a proper trip this time. A new planet. A different time.

"Somewhere peaceful, dear." He instructed. He knew where was aiming for but sometimes getting there was a bit of a negotiation.

"The Gold Sands of Megerra, or somewhere like it." He couldn't resist that destination, their names so close together. Megerra was a planet he'd taken a few companions after a rough trip and a little R and R was needed. Touristy, of course. But reforming Meg would require baby steps.

He fiddled with a hand crank, but hesitated to start the engines up. He double and triple checked his calculations. Meg was still asleep in her room. It'd be easier without her in the control room. The Doctor blamed the rough way the TARDIS was flying lately to her not liking Meg. And that dislike he attributed to her warple the Master pointed out. A phenomenon the Doctor tried to ignore, and advised the TARDIS to do the same. As with Captain Jack, when he became immortal, the TARDIS just needed an adjustment period.

"Well… allonsy."

The TARDIS glided into existence as light as a feather with barely an asthmatic wheeze.

"That a girl." He praised. He had a good feeling about this trip.

Meg glared at the shower. Just like the last time she used it, it was freezing. She didn't much care at the time, because she was covered in blood. She let the water run, but it refused to get any warmer.

"You don't scare me." she told it, stepping inside as far from the spray as she could. She hesitated, then stepped forward. She smothered a scream when the water hit her skin. "Fuuuudge monkeys. I've done polar bear swims that were warmer."

Quickly, she lathered up. "I hate cold showers and I hate you, TARDIS."

The water cut off. Meg let out a yip of surprise as she found herself naked, soapy and in the middle of a corridor.

"I'm sorry…" she said to the empty air. "Put me back?"

The Doctor was half under the grating, tinkering – a hobby and a constant necessity to keep the TARDIS running. He'd replaced the breakers, but in doing so he discovered a nasty snarl of wires leading to the cohesion matrices and one of them was growing a colony of crystalline mold that was wreaking havoc with the port tourn systems. A pop song played in the background. The Doctor's foot bounced to the music. "A hundred thousand light years from my ex… and I'm still running!"

"Doctor?"

"Hmm?" _Almost there._

"I've gotta say traveling with you has been a life changing adventure. Wonderful even."

"Hm-hm." _Yep, 'life changing'. Ouch. Spark. 'Wonderful'? Yes, I am._

"That said, living with you could use some improvement."

She padded into the room with the consul between them. In his awkward position under the consul, he could only catch a glimpse of her feet.

"Are you barefoot?"

"Yep."

Ordinarily he would have noticed depth of his companion's bad mood in her curt answer… or perhaps not, but just then he got a crystal mold spore in his eye that commanded most of his attention. He wiggled out, rubbing his eyes.

"Okay, but I should warn you I haven' t swept or mopped in… not sure when actually. Several centuries at least."

"Uh-huh." She answered. As she walked past again he caught two scents: a feminine lilac soap and his coat.

"What are you doing with my coat?" he removed his fingers from his eye, a bit surprised to find her wearing his coat. The Doctor slowly added it up. Barefoot, coat, wet hair, bad mood. He blushed when he figured it out.

"By any chance…" he coughed, "er… are you…?" He couldn't quite bring himself to say it: _naked._

"Did the TARDIS dematerialize my shower while I was still in it? Yes."

He looked down at the jumble of wires. "My bad."

"Fine, just tell me where the closet is currently residing and you can have your coat back."

He jumped up and checked his computer. "Right. Through there, down the hall, 7th right, third left, past the kitchen, down the stairs, 18th door on the left."

Meg turned, muttering, "Rassilon."

The Doctor tugged on his ear, wondering if he should call out an apology or it that'd just make things worse. Funny thing though, the wires he was untangling and cleaning shouldn't have caused the short circuit in the internal spatio-constance program.


	2. Chapter 2: - Megara take warning

Chapter 2: -Meg Take Warning

"Boo!"

The Doctor didn't jump or look up from the screen. "Just a sec."

She sighed, disappointed. "Super alien hearing?" She guessed, plopping into the pilot's chair.

"You'll never be able to sneak up on me." he told her, letting her believe what she wanted. Yes, he did have 'super alien hearing' but it wasn't that super, just better than a human. While she was as graceful as a predator with the silence to match; he hadn't heard her approach but he knew she was near. No matter how hard she tried to sneak up on him, he would always know.

He studied the computer screen. Stubbornly, the information remained the same.

Megara Ann Lupus-Savvides

Species: Homo sapiens sapiens

Age: 23 years 6 months 3 days 18 hours

Sex: Female

Height: 165 cm

Etcetera…

He hit the side of the screen. The picture refreshed, but the information didn't change.

She leaned over his shoulder to look at what he was doing. He didn't bother covering the screen, the information was in Gallifreyan. The TARDIS translation circuits never translated Gallifreyan into any other language. Why would it bother translating a time lord's native tongue? TARDISes weren't built for human guests.

As for what Meg was… that was anyone's guess. As for the TARDIS, she kept insisting she was 100% human.

"Ready?" Meg prompted.

He looked over and stared. She wore a gauzy painted-silk dress of hundreds of blush-pink cherry blossoms. She looked… startlingly feminine. She was so sporty before: bleeding out on his couch, hiking in the desert, then mountaineering. She was lovely then of course, but in a dress, she looked like something out of a fairy-tale.

He mentally shook himself out of his shock and smiled, opening the door. "After you."

"Wow." She couldn't help a wide grin as she took in her surroundings. She could get used to traveling like this: one moment on Earth, then next a perfectly manicured – and alien – garden. In blink of an eye, just how many lightyears had she traveled? And she used to think jets were impressive. She walked over to a bush of purple and lavender leaves.

_New. _

She smiled.

Further down the trail of black quartz-like crushed rock were flowers – green ones. She leaned over to smell them. Her hair brushed the petals and the flower withdrew into itself like an anemone. She laughed, surprised and delighted.

The Doctor watched her explore, marveling. _She loves this._

She wandered farther down the lane. The Doctor wasn't the only one watching her. A rustling in the bushes caught the Doctor's attention. He quickly locked the TARDIS and investigated, catching sight of someone's fast retreating back. He wouldn't catch him. He shrugged and turned to catch up with Meg.

"Oh you poor thing."

The Doctor came to a sudden halt at a fountain. He'd never heard Meg coo like that. Early days still, but he was rather good at reading people and really, in the past couple days he was thinking a Slitheen with a hangover had a warmer, more vulnerable side than Meg. Suddenly he worried she was a Zygon body-double. He found her skimming the water of the fountain with her fingers, but he didn't see what she was reaching for till she withdrew her hand. Resting on her fingertips, too exhausted to fly, was an insect. And not just any insect, a Wixmoroff, viewed by some as the ugliest and meanest insect in the Pannoose system.

The Doctor put on his brainy specs and took a look. It was busily drying its antennae off, not paying the slightest attention to the two giants studying it. The Doctor looked at the insect, then looked at Meg, his expression - like peering into a microscope - unchanged from either subject.

"You know that's an alien, yeah?"

"Really? The five legs didn't give that away at all."

"But you didn't know what it was… and you picked it up."

"I do so know what it is."

"You do?"

"It's a bug. And it was drowning." The waterlogged insect started exploring Meg's hand, with her looking on like a serene Madonna. The Doctor was flummoxed. She put her hand by a leaf and it crawled away. She walked on as if the detour had never happened.

"How'd you know it wouldn't sting you?"

Meg shrugged. "I've rescued enough bees and spiders from water buckets and ponds. Whether they're grateful or merely exhausted is a question for scientists. I've never been stung once."

"But why save it?"

"Why leave it?"

"Megara Savvides, I can't figure you out. Love a puzzle, me, but only when the rules make sense. You don't like aliens."

"I don't _trust _aliens. Come to think of it, I'm not really all that trusting of humans either. But there's a difference." She linked arms with him. "Besides, a girl can change her mind, can't she? I trust you. I trusted that little critter. Score two in the positive column. That's progress, yes?"

He smiled. "Yes."

On K2 she decided she wanted to travel with him more, and while she wasn't going to apologize for being ready and able to defend herself, she wasn't without self-awareness. She knew her history gave her certain prejudices against aliens. But the Doctor was an alien, and a good man; she was willing to work on herself.

Rounding a bend in the garden, they were presented with two humanoids. Meg stopped dead. The Doctor squeezed her hand where she rested on his arm. She shot him a glance and nodded that she wasn't going to fliip out.

The men were both had rosy skin that pearlized slightly in the light. They had two antennae rising from their foreheads and large completely black eyes. The robes they wore looked expensive and important if Earth standards were anything to go by.

The men kow-towed before them. She looked over at the Doctor, "Are we supposed to do the same back?" But when one crawled forward and tried to kiss her feet Meg took several steps backwards to stop him. _Do not touch_. "Whoa, hey, what are you doing?"

"You must forgive Kl'ay's enthusiasm." The other said. "It is just that we have waited for this day for one hundred ninety one years."

"What day is that, then?" the Doctor asked casually.

"The day the great Megara Savvides and her handsome companion return."

"Return?" Meg asked.

"_Her _companion?" The Doctor asked.

"I'm sorry. From our point of view, yes. This is your first visit. I am Tal'k. Kl'ay and I will make sure it is unforgettable. We will hold a celebration tonight in your honor. You will lack for nothing."

"Um… thank you."

"No, thank _you._"

"For what?"

"Oh, that we cannot tell you. You strictly warned up before you left never to tell you the history of your selfless bravery. Foreknowledge is a dangerous thing."

"Quite right." The Doctor said, grasping the opportunity to sound brainy, and regain his footing. "It causes a paradox of how you got that information in the first place. The universe hates paradoxes even more than it hates a vacuum. Does everything it can to stop one, including tearing up pieces of itself. The long and short of it is: spoilers are bad."

"Isn't this a spoiler, though? I come here in a hundred and ninety years."

"You'll do anyway. But, if you found out now the only way to defeat the bad guys was to sing karaoke with a fruit basket on your head - with no way of finding that out yourself… that would be disastrous."

"How bad could it be?"

The Doctor put his serious face on. "Bad."

Meg decided she didn't really need to know. "So… bring on the party."


	3. Chapter 3: Bitter Return

The Doctor needn't have worried about Meg. She smiled politely at everyone she met. She assured several people several times the last-minute preparations were impressive, and she didn't mind at all to wait on dinner. As the tables were hastily being set for the dinner that evening, they mingled in the crowd of VIPs. She was the guest of honor and everyone wanted to meet her, touch her, thank her.

"You okay?"

Meg pushed down her annoyance. She had trust issues, not a phobia. This was a dinner party. "Never better."

She was uncomfortable with the praise, especially because she didn't know what they were so grateful for and technically hadn't done anything yet. The Doctor pretended to mingle, but he was really hovering. He kept looking at her – waiting for her to flip out and attack someone she guessed.

She mingled her way to the edges of the crowd, and slipped behind a column when she found the chance and took a breath. She was having fun – really – she just needed a minute alone. Something tugged on her dress. She looked down and saw a little girl, all shy, dark eyes and antenna and glowing skin she was getting rather jealous of. _Aren't you adorable!_

She bent down. "Hello. I'm Meg."

"Kli'ki."

The Doctor sought out Meg again. Panicked, and then found her on the floor. She was playing a clapping game with a child now. The Doctor smiled.

The maître-d interrupted and called everyone to sit.

The Doctor and Meg were directed to sit on a raised dais with the two senators who found them in the garden Tall'k and K'lay seated between them. Long tables stretched out on either side forming an enclosed area for performers. Floating orbs appeared and hovered around the table of honor. There was no mistaking the eye of a lens.

"Are you recording?"

"Recording, no. This night is for the Keepers to remember and pass on – but we are transmitting. All the world wanted to be here tonight, but you will be there with them instead. Just ignore them."

"Swell." She muttered, touching her hair.

Meg didn't have much time to be flustered before the food arrived. She tried everything they put in front of her, and liked (almost) everything, for the novelty if nothing else.

The appetizers were being taken away when a page approached the table. "He's here."

"Finally. Where did they finally track him down? Nevermind, it's not important. Show him on." Tall'k looked over at Meg and shrugged.

_He's going to say how hard it is to be a last-minute host one more time for the cameras._

"It's difficult to plan a party in a day without a few hiccups."

_Called it. _"You're doing great." _Smile. Don't look at the cameras._

"Who did you find?"

"The First Keeper of History."

"Keeper of History? What does that mean? Are they teachers, librarians…?"

"I think it's more literal than that." The Doctor said. "The Keens don't have a written language, do you?"

"No. Many years ago, travelers introduced to us this concept. But we like our way just fine. The Keepers tell history in a way that brings such stories alive in ways insipid marks on a page can never do."

The Primo performer arrived with a fair amount of pomp.

"First Keeper Poldark." K'lay spotted him first and beat Tall'k to the announcement. Everyone stood.

Poldark bowed before the table of honor. This alien was different from the rest. His skin was dusty rather than pearlescent. His pink skin was mottled purple. Was this a natural variation? Would commenting on his appearance cause offense?

She held her tongue. Poldark moved back to the center. As they sat, the Doctor let out a small cough. Meg could guess why. The man smelled powerfully of chemicals that burned her nose and cleared her sinuses.

Poldark began to speak. The story he told wasn't of war or politics but the story of a man from several centuries earlier. Meg would have expected the topic to be a dry college lecture or creative but general due to gaps in historical knowledge. This was neither. It reminded her of listening to her grandpa tell her stories about his life. When Poldark spoke of losing his wife, her eyes misted.

No one clapped when the rendition finished, it was too emotional. Poldark returned to the table of honor. Tall'k and K'lay stood when the Keeper approached. Meg and the Doctor copied them.

"That was… a haunting rendition. You are very talented." Meg said.

"Haunting?"

"Moving."

"Ah. I am… pleased… you were entertained."

"I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?" _Don't look at the cameras. Don't look at the cameras. Don't-_

"Some keepers of history dislike to perform at parties." Tall'k explained. "They call it frivolous. History is sacred to them – well, to all of us. Obviously, this keeper doesn't recognize our guests. This is –"

"Megara of Earth, savior of Keen. Doctor of the TARDIS, savior of Meg. There is no Keeper in existence that would not recognize you two."

Meg shifted. The way he said her name… it carried none of the awe and gratitude in his voice like the senators'. The man took both her hands and bowed over them. Tall'k smiled. The man then gripped her wrists tightly, and pulled her into an embrace. Whispering harshly in her ear, he said, "Would that you had never come back here!"

The man released her as if nothing happened, moving on, paying his respects to the other assembled lords, accepting their praise with much more grace than he had hers. Meg's smile froze on her face.

The others sat back down, except Meg.

"Meg?" The Doctor asked.

Meg dismissed him with a smile. "Restroom."

One more minute alone, that's all she needed, then she could go back to being the center of an entire race's attention.

She was almost to the far end of the pavilion when the first bomb went off.


	4. Chapter 4: the Keeper Rebellion

**Chapter 4: the Keeper Rebellion**

Meg flinched at the noise of the explosion. It wasn't exactly a Michael Bay moment, maybe a quarter stick of dynamite, if her familiarity with the fourth of July was anything to go on. It caused more confusion than panic. The other guests looked to each other wondering if the fireworks misfired. A second boom followed. And then another, getting closer. Meg looked to the table of honor and saw the Doctor arguing with the senators, no doubt urging evacuation. A door to her left exploded outward off its hinges. The honor guard standing by it pelted with splinters.

Men entered through the doorway, all the same ashy purple as the First Keeper of History. Guests stampeded. Meg pushed against the tide, fighting my way forward to the Doctor.

"Hey!" Meg shouted, catching the attention of a Keeper. He turned to block her path.

Blood pounded in her ears. She hadn't feared the Keen as she expected. Now? She sank into a fighting stance. They looked human, but what hidden talents lay under their mottled skin? The Keeper took a step forward and she threw an experimental punch. The strike landed solidly – the man reacting comically slow. She tried again. Same inept attempt at blocking. This would be an easy fight if any of her blows affected him.

"Don't hurt them!"

"Excuse me?" Meg asked, awkwardly pulling the force back from her mule-kick at the last moment. If anything she was just dancing with the guy for all the damage she was inflicting. _Why would a senator defend -_

The Doctor took her hand, pulling her into the state building, following the senators. The doors closed behind them and he sonic'ed them to lock.

"The Keepers are sacred." Kl'ay said. The explanation didn't prevent him from hyperventilating with fear.

"They blew up the building."

"Parts of it." The Doctor corrected. "Couple doors. Which… doesn't sound as dramatic, does it?"

"What they have done is irrelevant." Kl'ay insisted.

"Either way, I wasn't going to kill him. They can survive a bump on the head, can't they?"

"They could. But their memories… perhaps not. Each Keeper has his own unique story to tell. If even one were to suffer amnesia… that is priceless history that cannot be replaced."

Meg sighed in frustration. "Video backups – might want to consider it."

"Another day perhaps." He pointed down the hallway. "There's a safe room not far."

Meg took point, trusting the Doctor to bring up the rear. She rounded a corner coming face to face with another Keeper. She put her hands up instinctively to protect or attack. How did one fight against the sacred?

"Poldark, bless the fates you're ok."

"He's not with them?"

"Of course not." Poldark said, affronted. A sentiment echoed by the senators.

_Of course not._ Meg reluctantly put her hands down and continued down the hall, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled knowing Poldark followed close behind.

"I need a rest." Kl'ay panted.

"We're not far." Tall'k protested.

Meg rounded a corner and skidded to a halt. Under a hallway table, the little girl from the dinner sat crying.

She knelt down. "Hey, Kli'ki, isn't it? Come on out, come with us."

A door opened ahead, and a Keeper emerged, cutting off their way to the saferoom. "I found her." The Keeper said in his ear piece and started forward.

Kli'ki shrieked and ran for Meg. In one motion she picked the little girl up and shoved her into the Doctor's waiting arms.

She ran forward to meet the Keeper and jumped. Her legs wrapped around his neck, and as she flung herself backwards, he followed her to the ground. While he was still stunned by the sudden take down, Meg grabbed his hand. His elbow lay across her hip, pushing his hand down an inch levered pressure against the joint. He wasn't going anywhere until she said so. Unfortunately, neither was she.

Looking up, she saw the Doctor slack jawed. She looked down ashamed. What was it this time: her violence, or her protection of an alien that surprised him? She swallowed, feeling awkward with the scrutiny. "So… anyone have some rope?"

"The elevator to the safe room is down the hall, take a right. We'll wait for you."

The group left them. The silence stretched as they lay on the ground. _ Might as well take advantage of a captive audience…_ "What do you want?"

"You'll find out."

Meg raised her hips a little, pushed his hand down a little.

"Argh. Hurry up!" he shouted.

Meg nearly dropped his hand. He'd been in contact with others when they fought – others were coming.

"Shoot." She glanced down the hallway. How much time could she afford to give them? What if they ran into trouble already without her?

"Any chance you'll stay down?"

"None at all."

"Figures." She heard running feet. Three… two… one. She jumped up. The Keeper swiped at her feet to trip her up. She stumbled, but stayed standing.

She ran, knocking over hall tables as she went to slow the Keeper down. She caught up with them with the Doctor arguing with the Senators.

"The safe room is for heads of state…"

"It really isn't built for mass evacuation…"

"Civilians aren't really in danger of being kidnapped… The Keeper might have – "

"Probably have –"

"-Been talking about Meg…"

"The child should really be with her parents…"

"Oh, well if it's a matter of space, I'd be happy to stay behind a minute to beat you into the ground and leave you for the Keepers. It's a_ child_. We're not going to leave her alone during an attack." She shoved her way into the elevator, pulling the girl gently in behind her. The doors closed and Meg waved to the Keeper who arrived out of breath and too late.

The Doctor beamed proudly.

Meg turned on him. "Don't even think about offering me validation; you're in the dog house until further notice."

"You and Donna..." he muttered, _two steps forward, one step back_. "What did I do now?"

"Surprise? Really? I get that I'm a garbage human being, but I'm not a monster. Also, you're _so_. _Not. helping_. Verloc, tried to kill me. Traveen, tried to kill me. Keepers, trying to kill me. You're the only alien I've met that isn't a homicidal maniac, so yeah, if the whole universe follows that four out of five species will want my death, you'll excuse my continuing mistrust."

"Three out of four, don't you mean?" he asked quietly, knowing he wasn't supposed to know about the aliens that killed her parents.

She blinked. "Right. Bad at math. Shut up." She turned to Kl'ay. "Any reason you turned history professors into super soldiers?"

"Of course they are durable. They must be preserved."

"Of course." She turned to Poldark. "These are Keepers – why are they attacking?"

"They are not Keepers. They are Ghosts."

"That clears things up." Meg said. "Who or what are Ghosts?"

"There is a growing contingent of Keepers that have radicalized. They call themselves the Ghosts of the Past - they do not wish to be Keepers of History anymore. This is not their first violent act."

"And they can't just quit?"

Poldark stared at her as if she was the dumbest person he'd met: incredulous, amused and pitying. "…No."

"Okay, so, what did they want? Break up the party and terrorize the guests? Kidnap a few senators? What's their endgame?"

"I do not know. The Ghosts do not confide in me, knowing as they do, my views. But there is another possibility. To kidnap Meg."

"Me?"

"A paradox?" the Doctor guessed. "That's insane."

Poldark shrugged. "A paradox, or ransom. She is a global treasure and a few dozen atomic bombs. Either is of use to terrorists."

"It will do no good - we will not negotiate." Kl'ay sniffed.

The Doctor turned on the senators. "And you let the party continue knowing there was a credible threat to Meg – to your whole planet?"

"There was security present." Tall'k said defensively.

"Is it more credible than the threat to our safety?" Kl'ay added. "A paradox, as you insinuated, would destroy everyone on Keen. No one, least of all a Keeper, would be so foolish."

Poldark disagreed. "Desperation makes fools of the wisest. What excuse do you hold to for your willful ignorance?"

The elevator came to rest and the doors opened with a ding.


	5. Chapter 5: Safe Room

Chapter 5: ** "Safe" Room**

The second the doors closed and locked the senators breathed a sigh of relief. They smiled to each other and clapped their hands on each other's backs, congratulating themselves on their survival. Everyone settled in to wait. The senators went to one corner, whispering all the while. Poldark camped out in another, charming Kli'ki with stories. Meg and the Doctor retired to their own corner. Outwardly, Meg looked calm, even bored, but she worried the corner edge of her old phone with her thumb. The Doctor smiled, pleased to have discovered her tell.

"You know, I can zap your phone – give it reception anywhere, anytime." He offered, drawing her down to the floor with him.

"Really? Cool."

She handed him her new phone. In just a few seconds of fiddling, he'd supercharged her phone.

"Thanks." She said. She smiled at the gift then put it away.

"You're not going to call anyone?"

She pointed to the blinking blue light next to the placard explaining help was coming when light flashed. "Someone already pressed the 'help' button. Not really in the mood for memes at the moment."

"I meant calling family."

"Are you saying I might not get out of this alive?" she asked, eyes wide. She laughed at his inner struggle: to comfort and reassure, or tell the truth and allow her and her kin some closure. She took pity and explained. "I have an aunt, but we say our just-in-case good-byes before every trip, I'm covered right now."

"Every trip?"

"Well _Time Lord_, even before I met you, planes crash, things happen. If you can guarantee every trip will allow me a solid 5 minutes to call my family before inescapable death, maybe I'll stop doing it. What if I call and we get out of this alive? She'll have spent hours even days in the agony of suspense till I can call again. For what? Some calls shouldn't be made."

He looked down, remembering the sudden losses through the years. Maybe leaving nothing unsaid was a tradition he should pick up. "You're not, you know? 'Garbage'."

"No?"

"I think you're amazing."

She looked down at her hands. In a quiet voice she asked, "You don't think I'm broken?"

"You don't have to keep trying to prove you're strong – because you are. Just because you hurt still doesn't mean you're weak. If you acted like a cornered animal and lashed out blindly at anyone and anything you wouldn't be here with me now."

"And a lovely panic room this is, too. Wouldn't want to miss it." She nudged him with her shoulder. "So, if you trust my humanity so much, why did you look surprised when I protected Kli'ki?"

"Are you kidding? You jumped up, wrapped your legs around that Keeper's neck, and used your momentum to knock him to the ground. That's not something you see every day outside of the movies."

"Oh." She looked down. "My teachers would be ashamed of me. Flashy is fun, but not very smart. I don't get the opportunity to fight Hollywood often, but The Keepers are durable, that's about it, so I took a chance."

"Who taught you then?"

She shrugged. "Not all my teachers were _good _teachers. Some of them were the tv and falling on my head a lot."

She _was_ amazing. She _was_ strong. She was controlled enough to keep her baggage in check during times of stress.

All true.

_Still._ Treating a terrorist attack as the time to practice her more rusty, self-taught hand-to-hand fighting techniques frightened him more than impressed him. It worked out this time, but that was reckless, more, that fit her pattern of behavior if the newspaper articles were anything to go on.

Was he one to judge?

BOOM

Regardless, that was enough honesty for one day. The Ghosts were at the door.

BOOM

BOOM

The door vibrated with each explosion. Each explosion they all flinched, expecting this one to be the one that knocks the doors in.

BOOM

"They're going to get through." Tall'k said worriedly glancing at Kl'ay and then down.

"He's right." Meg said, drawing the Doctor to one side. Now would be a great time for another inspired escape. Meg didn't see any way out. They were basically stuck in an empty supply closet, there was nothing to use as a weapon, there were no windows or way out.

"So… anyone going to talk about what happens when they do?" Meg glanced at the senators. Their whispered conversation seemed to involve plenty of guilty glances her way. The Doctor was picking up on more judging by the clenched jaw and glares he sent back their way. One last sacrifice from their beloved hero. History can change, they might make it out two hundred years ago, they might not wink out of existence…

Meg liked her chances against Tall'k and Kl'ay if they were human, but she remembered the fight in the courtyard and how little her strength counted and she wasn't so sure. She sized up Poldark. Would he side with the senators? Considering his frosty attitude towards her, 'neutral' was the best she could hope for from him.

She turned to the Doctor and wasn't thrilled with what she saw. "You're glaring at the senators. You don't like their plan – thank you for that – but then you look guilty. You got a plan, but it's a suck-y plan too, and you're waiting to come up with a better one. Only we're running out of time here, so: let's hear it. It's gotta be better than killing me."

The Doctor pulled at his ear. "The Keens don't have a written language."

"Right."

"So, unless they're really good at charades, they'd have to tell you the paradox verbally."

"Still following…"

The Doctor sighed. "So they'd be stuck if… if you couldn't hear them."

Meg felt a little woozy at the prospect. He was actually talking about taking one of her senses? "I…"

Not hear? Never again? Music. Birds. A friendly voice. Her own voice.

"I'm sorry. I don't see another way."

Meg nodded, still in shock. She almost suggested they just knock her out, but life wasn't the movies – unconsciousness for more than a minute or so would result in brain damage. That wasn't nearly enough time. She couldn't quite believe it when she hoarsely gave him permission.

Neither apparently, could the Doctor. "You'd do it for aliens?"

She huffed. "Let's not start that again. I'm not eager to save Tall'k and Kl'ay at the moment, but they're not the only ones on this rock, so do it, before I change my mind." She steeled herself to think only on the present moment and right now there were terrorists about to break down the door and use her to destroy the planet. How many people lived on Keen? Even if it was only the few hundred at her celebration, it'd be criminal to let everyone die to save her ears – not to mention foolish as she was one of the people the paradox would kill. The Doctor's plan was better than the alternatives.

"You are amazing." He kissed her forehead. "I promise. A quick trip to New New Earth, and we'll reverse it."

She looked at him, shocked. "It's reversible?" she screeched, suddenly furious. "_Lead_ with that next time."

He winced. '_Next time'?_ Was she already anticipating pain from his hand? "It's still going to hurt."

"Yeah, I imagine." British understatement was sometimes hilarious. This wasn't one of those times. "Get on with it."

He squirmed, his body revolting against the idea, and shook his head. "I could be wrong – they might be after the others. We don't know yet."

_Why are you here, then?_ She almost asked him. Only a few trips into this relationship, she knew if he wasn't the smartest guy in the room, then he was the one with the most relevant background information – and he ran to use it. He wouldn't be holed up here if the trouble lay elsewhere. There were other MVPs possibly being kidnapped, but he stuck with her… but she didn't argue any of this. She just nodded. "We'll wait and see then."

She wouldn't be kept waiting for long – with the last resounding BOOM, the door heaved open and three Ghost-Keepers stepped in.

"We do not wish to hurt you." The Ghost from the courtyard said.

"What a coincidence, we don't want to hurt you either." The Doctor said.

"We require Megara."

"That's not on the menu." The Doctor said, putting himself between them. "Never."

"We do not wish to hurt you, Doctor, but we will, if we must."

"What do you want with me?" Meg piped up.

"You will help us create a paradox that will consume this world."

"No!" _Who said it? Someone. Everyone?_ Meg stared. The Ghost didn't look like a man about to commit genocide. He didn't look evil, he looked… Resigned. Tired. But then, Satan probably looked like the picture of innocence.

The Doctor turned to her. "Trust me?"

"Do it."

He clapped his hands against Meg's ears, the trapped pocket of air ruptured the delicate membranes of her ear drums. It felt like the Doctor attacked her with an ice-pick. She screamed. The Doctor crushed her against his chest. She felt his chest vibrate, and knew he was apologizing, but she couldn't hear him. Warmth trickled out of her ear. She touched it. Blood.

_It's reversible. The Doctor told her so._

_Fixed 100%, like it used to be? Or cochlear implant level fixed?_ She wondered - the distinction suddenly important as her disorientation grew with the conflict. People were arguing – shouting if their facial expressions were anything to go by. Kl'ay threw a punch at a Keeper, and the Keeper threw him against a wall. A woman clamped her hands around her arms and pulled her from the Doctor's grasp, while he grappled with another Keeper.

Instinctively she struggled against the hold. "Don't touch me." she said, or tried to say. She wasn't sure if it came out right. Either way, the woman didn't release her grip. The woman's hands were vices. Nothing Meg did made a difference. She might as well be wrestling a truck. As she was pulled into the hallway, she noticed there was something wrong with the woman. Under her cold, rubbery skin, there was no give of muscle and fat. She felt mechanical.

"You have me, don't hurt them." She said, twisting to try and see what was happening in the panic room. Did they listen and understand? Did they respond? Who was winning? Was the Doctor alright?

At the end of the hallway she saw the Ghost-Keepers leave the panic room and follow them, their faces expressionless.

"Doctor!" she yelled, hoping to see his face pop out into the hall and know he was alive.

She saw nothing.


End file.
